CONCEPT NOTE

RECOVERING FROM FLOOD IN MALAWI

SUPPORT TO THE 2015 POST DISASTER NEEDS ASSESSMENT IMPLEMENTATION

August 2015

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1. PROJECT SUMMARY

2. PROJECT CONTEXT

Malawi faces a number of hazards, both natural and man-made, which include floods, drought, stormy rains, strong winds, hailstorms, landslides, earthquakes, disease outbreaks, etc.

In January 2015, Malawi experienced major flooding the country has ever known in 15 of the 28 districts. The rainfall was the highest on record for Malawi and constitutes a 1 in 500-year event, and caused significant flooding – predominantly in the Southern Region. Following the event, the President of the Republic of Malawi declared a State of Disaster in 15 affected districts. A United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team was deployed to Malawi to support the coordination of the immediate relief efforts and conduct an assessment of the damage from the floods. A preliminary response plan for USD 81 million was developed through the Government-led cluster system and with support from the UN.

Following that, the Government of Malawi requested support to conduct a comprehensive Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) in partnership with World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Union. The PDNA, led by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) took place from February 18 to March 7, 2015. It has provided: (1) an impact and needs assessment across 12 selected sectors (2) cross-cutting guiding principles and a preliminary recovery strategy and (3) a roadmap that prioritizes early, medium and long-term needs for each sector. These elements are expected to be followed by the development of a National Early Recovery Plan (ERP) under the auspices of DoDMA that will provide a programmatic plan of action covering key institutional, policy, financing and implementation actions to ensure efficient, resilient and sustainable recovery.

The recently released Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) estimated that the floods affected 1,101,364 people, displaced 230,000 and killed 106 people. The 2015 floods have caused substantial damage and losses in the productive, public infrastructure and social service sectors, including private and community assets. The floods washed away livestock, destroyed thousands of buildings, houses and assets, and damaged roads, bridges, irrigation infrastructure and school and health facilities.

According to the findings of the PDNA, the effects of damage and losses are estimated to result in a projected negative impact on GDP growth in 2015, to the tune of 0.6 percent. The economic costs resulting from the negative impact of the floods, other things being equal, may thus lead to GDP growth falling short of the 5.8 percent projection set for 2015.

The damage caused by the floods is estimated at US$ 286.3 million while losses amount to US$48.4 million. The housing sector suffered the highest damage, calculated at US$ 136.4 million followed by the Agriculture sector calculated at US$ 54.4 million, then transport sector at US$ 50.4 million and water and sanitation sector calculated at US$18.9 million. The recovery and reconstruction cost is estimated at US$ 494 million of which recovery cost is estimated at US$ 88.2 million and reconstruction estimated at US$ 406 million.

In the early stage of the disaster, UNDP has provided tremendous support to the Government of Malawi working with UN Agencies on operationalizing cluster systems to better coordinate the response. As global lead on Early Recovery, UNDP has been tasked to chair the Early Recovery

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Project title: Recovering from Floods in Malawi: Support to the 2015 PDNA Implementation

Main objective: To assist the Government of Malawi to implement the outcomes of the PDNA through the build back better approach for more resilient communities.

Project duration: September 2015- August 2017 (24 Months)Implementing partners:

- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with Government of Malawi - World Bank, EU, UN Agencies, NGOs.

Budget: $ 1,000,000

Cluster and to support the Government on developing an early recovery framework. UNDP has also played a major role in preparing and undertaking the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) exercise and has pledged to support its implementation.

In close partnership with DoDMA and other key partners including the World Bank, this project constitutes UNDP’s contribution to the implementation of the PDNA and seeks to restore an enabling environment for affected communities to recover from the impact of the floods and “build back better” by complementing implementation of three interlinked ongoing projects: (i) Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Programme Support to Malawi 2012-2016, (ii) strengthening climate information and early warning systems in Eastern and Southern Africa for climate resilient development and adaptation to climate change – Malawi 2014-2017 and (iii) Public Private Partnerships in Sustainable Land Management 2010-2015.

UNDP will apply a community-based approach in affected districts through restoring and developing capacity of local authorities and communities to lead the disaster risk resilient recovery process. The project will be implemented in two phases in line with ER framework: 1) to respond to the urgent needs before the start of the next rainy season with interventions to help stabilize livelihoods and build the foundation for sustainable development pathways; 2) to further enhance and sustain medium-long term local economic recovery and development, building upon the foundation made through the phase I (first year).

3. RATIONAL FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT

The 2015 Post Disaster Needs Assessment Report observed the following salient points essential for disaster resilient community livelihoods recovery and their return to normalcy:

Restoration of the affected communities’ livelihoods - agriculture inputs, and diversification of income generating activities combining sustainable floods preparedness and mitigation and basic development activities, potential for enhancing and reducing vulnerability and building the affected communities’ resilience to the current floods and other future disasters;

Improve and strengthen flood forecasting and early warning system: 2015 floods have exposed the weak forecasting and early warning systems. There is a need to strengthen these systems countrywide so that relevant departments can coordinate and be prepared for the floods and communities are warned in advance.

Strengthen coordination and Roll out the cluster system at district level: DoDMA needs to strengthen coordination with other sectors and stakeholders not only those related to humanitarian response but also with those engaged in development planning, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation (CCA). Initial response to the disaster showed that the coordination that exists is at most of patchy quality across districts and within clusters. Decentralization is key to enhanced preparedness and response, and needs to be accompanied by adequate financial and human resources.

Setting up Emergency Response Operations Centers: To better respond to disasters, it is recommended that DoDMA sets up one National EOC and two regional EOC’s (Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu respectively) together with 3 district EOCs in Nsanje, Chikhwawa and Karonga. The National EOC should be permanent while the others should be operationalized within 24hrs. There is also need to provide equipment and build capacity of existing and additional personnel in the management of EOCs both at national and district level.

Strengthen disaster management and disaster risk reduction: Disaster management plans and efforts are skewed towards emergency response and less on preparedness. It is recommended that more emphasis be given to improving DRM coordination, preparedness and longer-term mitigation efforts. In addition, emergency coordination should be improved through better communication and information sharing. The PDNA highlights the need for better contingency planning taking into account more hazards and risks. Clear roles and responsibilities should also be widely stipulated and periodic simulation exercises should be conducted to ensure all stakeholders will do their parts as stipulated in the Operational

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Guidelines for DRM and Contingency Plans as and when required.

Improve legislation, harmonization of resilience building policies: with the National DRM Policy in place, the government should facilitate the finalization of the review of the Disaster Preparedness and Relief Act (1991) and approval of the Climate Change Policy and facilitate the review of National Agriculture Policy. There is a need for improved legislation harmonization and enforcement of resilient building policies from a gender perspective. In this regard, the government should enforce the DRM legislation with gender considerations. There is a strong need to formulate a National Early Recovery Plan (ERP). Building on both this PDNA and the 2010 Flood Risk Management Strategy and Action Plan, a detailed multi-sectorial ERP is required to ensure safe returns or relocations with adequate support.

Upon request from the Government and in order to address the short-medium term recovery needs, to support the transition from humanitarian to (early) recovery and long-term development, UNDP has reviewed its ongoing programme portfolio and will use the additional funding from this project to re-programme interventions to support national recovery initiatives and priorities.

On the other hand, this project is a response to the various challenges highlighted above by the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). This 24 months project, as an integral part of UNDP ongoing programmes, will support disaster risk resilient livelihoods recovery of flood-affected communities in Southern Malawi. The selected districts are among the worst flood-affected and have so far received little support in terms of restoration of communities’ livelihoods. In close partnership with the World Bank, other UN Agencies, DoDMA, local government institutions, and the affected communities, the project seeks to restore enabling environment for flood-affected communities to recover from the impact of the floods and build back better.

4. LINK WITH ON-GOING PROGRAMMES

This project will form part of and complement the ongoing support that UNDP Malawi is providing to the Government through the 3 major ongoing projects: (i) Disaster Risk Management Project, (ii) Strengthening Climate and Early Warning Systems and (iii) Sustainable Land Management project.

Achievement of the project objective will contribute to broader UNDP outcomes as identified in the CPD Output 1.3 aiming to develop national capacities for disaster preparedness and response. In order to achieve these two outputs, UNDP Malawi has been providing support to the government under the comprehensive DRR programme “Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Programme Support to Malawi 2012-2016” with the four outputs: (i) Disaster risk management mainstreamed in policies and development plans; (ii) Data and knowledge on the impact of natural disasters collected and made accessible to decision makers in Government, Private Sector Civil Society, and Communities; (iii) Coordination mechanisms and implementation arrangements for DRM/DRR established and used at national level and in the 15 disaster-prone districts; (iv) Monitoring and Evaluation. By ensuring that recovery interventions are DRR/CCA sensitive, UNDP seeks to build DRR mainstreaming practices and mechanism that can be further scaled up to other districts through DRR mainstreaming at the national level. The impact of recovery interventions will be monitored and documented to collect the lessons-learnt and good practices.

The project is also a major contributor to the implementation of the project on “Strengthening climate information and early warning systems in Eastern and Southern Africa for climate resilient development and adaptation to climate change – Malawi”. The project implemented by DoDMA aims to i) establish a functional network of meteorological and hydrological monitoring stations and associated infrastructure to better understand climatic changes; ii) develop and disseminate tailored weather and climate information (including early warnings for drought, floods and Mwera winds) to meet the needs of end-users in particular local farmers and fishermen in at least 7 disaster prone priority districts, namely Phalombe, Dedza, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Salima, Nkhotakota, Karonga and Nkhata Bay; iii) integrate weather and climate information and early warning systems into national sector specific policies and district development plans in at least 7 priority disaster-prone districts; and iv) establish cooperation agreements with national hydro-meteorological counterparts in Mozambique to improve warnings for tropical cyclones, flooding, Mwera winds and drought.

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Finally the recovery interventions will complement ongoing initiatives under the Private Public Partnership in Sustainable Land Management in the Shire River Basin Project. The overall goal of the project “Sustainable Land Management” provides the basis for economic development, food security and sustainable livelihoods while restoring the ecological integrity of the Shire River Basin”. The objective is: “To reduce land degradation in the Shire River Basin through improved institutional, policy and PES arrangements.” This will be achieved through: (1) policy and institutional arrangement for basin-wide SLM. (2) Private public partnerships providing financial incentives for SLM (through green water credits and sustainable charcoal, (3) improving knowledge and skills at all levels to support SLM (4) crop insurance providing a basis for increased access to credits as well as increased use of up to date weather information and (5) Effective project management & monitoring/evaluation.

5. OBJECTIVES AND OUTPUTS OF THE PROJECT

The overall objective of the project is to enhance sustainable and flood risk resilient recovery in the flood-affected communities in Southern Malawi through an integrated implementation of the 3 ongoing projects listed above. Based on the approved AWPs of these 3 projects, this current intervention will complement by putting more emphasis on building capacity on flood recovery through three inter-related outputs as follows:

- Output 1 : Disaster resilient livelihoods and economic opportunities for the flood-affected people restored and improved: UNDP in collaboration with DoDMA, other Government entities, UN partners and the World Bank will aim at strengthening livelihoods recovery strategies and increase sustainable income generating opportunities to enhance people’s resilience to future floods in Southern Malawi. (This output is strongly linked to the implementation of the Disaster Risk Management Programme support for Malawi (2012-2016) as well as the Sustainable Land Management in the Shire River Basin Project).

- Output 2 : Early Warning and Land Management Capacities of local authorities and communities’ strengthened: In order to complement local and national efforts in recovering, UNDP suggests supporting the restoration and/or development of governance capacity of relevant provincial, district level and also community level local government and institutions in order to sustain the Recovery interventions. The activities related to downscaling early warning systems at community level, increasing awareness, strengthening community preparedness and response to floods and strengthening post-disaster land management issues, will be addressed. (This output is strongly linked to the implementation of ongoing UNDP Early Warning and Sustainable Land Management projects).

- Output 3 : Coordination of Early Recovery Cluster strengthened and decentralized: UNDP has been closely working with the UNCT to engage in a well-coordinated and effective early recovery response to the January 2015 devastating floods in Southern Malawi. UNDP in its role as the lead of the IASC Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery will work together with district authorities to enhance capacity, and strengthen implementation of recovery interventions in Malawi. DoDMA will be supported through this project to enhance Government coordination efforts both at the national and district level for successful longer-term recovery programmes. It will create a platform for the government and non-government actors to work together for decentralized recovery programme design, implementation and sharing of knowledge and experiences. (This output is strongly linked to the implementation of the Disaster Risk Management Programme support for Malawi (2012-2016).

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6. PROJECT BUDGETThe project interventions will be implemented over a 24-months timeframe. The following table presents the tentative budget for the project.

Related Projects Output/Activity Year 1(Most Urgent)

Year 2

Output 1: Disaster resilient livelihoods and economic opportunities for the flood-affected people restored and improvedDisaster Risk Management ProjectOutput 1.Disaster risk management mainstreamed in policies and development plans

AWP indicator 3: Number of key sector policies, development plans at national and district level reflecting DRM

Output 2: Data and knowledge on the impact of natural disasters collected and made accessible to decision makers in Government, Private Sector Civil Society, and Communities.

AWP Indicator: Number of DRM related data bases that are linked and periodically updated

Output 3: Coordination mechanisms and implementation arrangements for DRM/DRR established and used at national level and in the 15 disaster-prone districts

AWP Indicator: No of coordination meetings held

Sustainable Land Use management ProjectOutcome 1: The policy, regulatory and institutional arrangement support sustainable land management in the Shire River Basin.

Indicators: - Number of policies mainstreaming SLM- Percentage of eligible farmers participating in the green water credit scheme, hectares covered and extent of its functioning

Outcome 3: Crop insurance providing the basis for increased access to credits as well as increased use of up to date weather information in decision making

Indicators: At least 200 farmers are monitored in the dry land crop insurance for at least 2 crops

Support vulnerable populations affected by floods through livelihood and cash for work programmes.

50,000 -

Sustainable land management techniques, dykes rehabilitation and riverbank protection, reforestation with emphasis on women and vulnerable groups.

- 50,000

Protection of slopes and riverbanks and water conservation techniques for farming.

- 50,000

Establish Community Recovery Fund - 100,000 Provide start-up grants to farmers for agri-business 70,000 - Provide start-up grants of women and youth for developing income generating

activities and diversifying the livelihoods70,000 -

Undertake value chain analysis to identify alternative livelihoods with focus on green-jobs/bio-diversified livelihoods

5,000-

Develop the value chain (market access) for 2 selected items (agriculture, non-agriculture) in link to Access to Market.

10,000-

Sub-Total Output 1 = USD 405,000 205,000 200,000

Output 2: Early Warning and Land Management Capacities of local authorities and communities’ strengthenedEarly warning projectOutcome 1: Enhanced capacity of the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS)

Indicators: - No of automatic hydrological station in place in flood prone areas- No of Community based EWS - Number of materials on weather and climate information disseminated

Outcome 2: Efficient and effective use of hydro-meteorological and environmental information for making early warnings and long-term development plans

Establishment of new Regional Emergency Operation Centers for the most flood prone districts

- 100,000

Identify and strengthen community based early flood forecasting and warning system

20,000

Rehabilitate and build capacity for maintenance of priority meteorological stations in affected districts

- 50,000

Update the existing local hazard/risk mapping in affected districts - 10,000

Strengthening communities capacities for use of EWS/Climate Information in -

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Indicators: - No of disaster warning center- % change in generation and dissemination of EW data- % change in utilization of EW information

Sustainable Land Use management ProjectOutcome 1: The policy, regulatory and institutional arrangement support sustainable land management in the Shire River Basin.

Indicators: - Number of policies mainstreaming SLM- Percentage of eligible farmers participating in the green water credit scheme, hectares covered and extent of its functioning

Outcome 3: Crop insurance providing the basis for increased access to credits as well as increased use of up to date weather information in decision making

Indicators: At least 200 farmers are monitored in the dry land crop insurance for at least 2 crops

preparedness for response to flood related disasters 10,000 Community-based and sensitization campaigns on the use of EW information 10,000 Promote Weather risk insurance for farmers in most vulnerable districts - 45,000 Support establishment of District Weather related Disaster Warning Centre - 50,000 Procure materials for up scaling of sustainable charcoal production 30,000 -

Sub-Total Output 2 = USD 325,000 60,000 265,000Output 3: Coordination of Early Recovery Cluster strengthened and decentralizedDisaster Risk Management ProjectOutput 1.Disaster risk management mainstreamed in policies and development plans

AWP indicator 3: Number of key sector policies, development plans at national and district level reflecting DRM

Output 2: Data and knowledge on the impact of natural disasters collected and made accessible to decision makers in Government, Private Sector Civil Society, and Communities.

AWP Indicator: Number of DRM related data bases that are linked and periodically updated

Output 3: Coordination mechanisms and implementation arrangements for DRM/DRR established and used at national level and in the 15 disaster-prone districts

AWP Indicator: No of coordination meetings held

Undertake a continuous update of the ER framework/strategy and recovery needs assessment

10,000 -

Finalize the national Recovery Framework and downscale it at district level 20,000 Enhance coordination between national and district coordination mechanisms

to promote information flow 30,000 -

Train local authorities in early recovery to be ready for transfer of coordination mechanisms for ER within 6 to 12 months after the disaster.

- 30,000

Support more inclusive simulation exercises at national, district and community level

50,000 -

Review contingency planning processes for better preparedness and response with support from OCHA

- 50,000

Develop capacity of local risk management committees for overseeing the recovery initiatives

- 40,000

Support local risk management committees - 40,000Sub-Total Output 3 = USD 270,000 90,000 180,000

Total Budget: USD 1,000,000 355,000 645,000

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7. MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

Funds will be channeled though the 3 ongoing NIM projects that UNDP is currently implementing with the Government of Malawi. For each of these 3 projects, the management arrangement is summarize bellow:

Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Programme Support to Malawi 2012-2016: DoDMA is the keyp implementing partner of the project. The OPM Project team in Lilongwe under direct supervision of the National Project Director carries out the management of the programme. UNDP also closely cooperates with national authorities and local authorities in the project micro units and respective communities. DoDMA ensures development of annual work plans together with the District Councils of the 14 target districts; ensures overall coordination of the programme following the agreed annual work plan including joint supervision with UNDP of activities implemented through NGOs; monitors the achievement of results and providing timely progress reports as indicated in the programme document.

Strengthening climate information and early warning systems: This project is being implemented over a four-year period and DoDMA functions as the Implementing Partner. DoDMA, as the IP, is responsible and held accountable for managing the LDCF project on a day-to-day basis as per UNDP’s NIM procedures and compliant with GEF policies. The Management arrangements are in alignment with arrangements already in place for the UNDP’s Programme Support Document to Disaster Risk Management. Governance of the Project will be supported through annual work planning as well as reporting and monitoring the delivery of results and impact on the basis of LDCF project results framework (which is also aligned with the results framework for the PS DRM).

Private Public Sector Partnership on Capacity Building for SLM in the Shire River Basin: The project is being implemented over a four-year period. The GEF implementation agency (IA) for the project is the UNDP Malawi Country Office. The project is executed under UNDP National Execution (NEX) procedures. The Department of Environmental Affairs of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment has overall responsibility for the project, and involves all other relevant ministries in the implementation of the project. The project engages the technical services of an institution with credible capacity and presence in Malawi to provide technical assistance with many of the technical outcomes, in particular the Green water credits, sustainable charcoal and crop insurance.

Interventions under this project will therefore be governed by already signed and agreed project management arrangement of these 3 above-mentioned projects. All activities under the flood recovery complementary project will be monitored and evaluated using same M & E arrangements agreed in the 3 projects. In accordance with the programming policies and procedures outlined in the UNDP User Guide, the project will be monitored through the following:

- Within the annual cycle: On a quarterly basis, a quality assessment shall record progress towards the completion of key results, based on quality criteria and methods captured in the Quality Management table of each of the 3 projects.

- Annual and Mid-term Project Review. Based on the above report, an annual project review shall be conducted during the second quarter of the year or soon after, to assess the performance of the project and appraise the Work Plan (AWP) for the remaining months. At the end of the project, there will be a final assessment. This review is driven by the Project Board and may involve other stakeholders as required. It shall focus on the extent to which progress is being made towards outputs, and that these remain aligned to appropriate outcomes

- Annual Review Report. An Annual Review Report shall be prepared by the Project Manager and shared with the Project Board and the Outcome Board. As minimum requirement, the Annual Review Report shall consist of the Atlas standard format for the QPR covering the whole year with updated information for each above element of the QPR as well as a summary of results achieved against pre-defined annual targets at the output level.

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